Victory for Yeltsin in Russian parliament

MOSCOW - President Boris Yeltsin won another victory in the Russian parliament yesterday when hardline deputies trying to derail his privatisation plan failed to persuade the parliament's chairman, Ruslan Khasbulatov, to put their resolution to the vote, writes Peter Pringle.

The hardliners had wanted to thwart the government's plan to give 10,000-rouble vouchers (twice the average monthly wage) to all 150 million Russians, starting on Thursday. They can use the vouchers to buy shares in state enterprises being relinquished by the government, open savings accounts or sell the vouchers. The plan is now expected to go ahead.